NZD1 = New Zealand, Day 1
The overnight flight from Houston to Auckland was as nice as can be expected for economy seats on a 15hr flight. We left Houston on the 9th, and arrived in Auckland on the 11th, bright and early at 6am. Perhaps too excited the trip had finally begun, the time difference didn’t really affect us that much and we hit the ground running, er…driving.
Honestly, getting used to driving on the the left side wasn’t as awkward as I thought. The only tricky thing was navigating the roundabouts, and it seemed like they were at every intersection. We soon resorted to repeating “turn left, turn left…” out loud to remind us not to turn into oncoming traffic. If the roundabouts were tricky, the turn signals were just annoying. Over the next 2.5 weeks, I maybe successfully used the turn signal on the first try instead of setting off the windshield wipers a handful of times (they are flipped since the driver seat is on the right side). When I finally somewhat got used to it, I spent the next 2 weeks adjusting back to my right side driving car back in the States.
We arrived at our hotel without much trouble. To my happy surprise, New Zealand hotels give free bottles of milk upon check in! How deliciously awesome is that? After dropping off our bags, we stopped in the tiny cafe downstairs for breakfast. Someone had left the morning newspaper on the table. Unfortunately, even at this far edge of the world we couldn’t escape the Donald (we left the US the day after the election). An older British couple sat down next to us and heard us speaking about the news. They asked if we were Americans, then asked, “Who do you think is more embarrassed? Us voting for Brexit or you voting for Trump?” I decided then that we were going to be Canadians for the rest of the trip.
We didn’t really have a plan for Auckland. We wandered through downtown and walked down to the pier. The city itself reminded me a lot of Seattle (even though I have never been to Seattle) with random arts in plazas and complete with a Space Needle looking tower and all. On the way to the pier we discovered that sushi in Auckland is amazing. We returned to the little sushi-to-go shop two times during that day. We had lunch sitting on the pier while we waited for the ferry to Rangitoto Island.
Rangitoto is Maori for “Bloody Sky”, fitting for the raining lava from volcanic eruptions that formed the island. I can copy and paste some internet descriptions of the island, but the bottom line is, it is a volcanic island with lots of luscious, green trees, dotted by patches of dried up lava rocks, is home to some endangered birds, and had some very dusty roads. The hike to the volcanic crater let us stretch our cramped legs from the flight. And, oh man, that New Zealand air can do wonders for your lungs.
Rangitoto was nice, but I was a little disappointed by this first encounter with the New Zealand nature. Everything I had read said you could point a camera in any random direction and it would turn out a masterpiece. Okay, I knew that was a bit of an exaggeration, but the island didn’t wow me. It could have been any volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean. I was expecting more. We did meet a little family of flightless birds, pecking at the trash left behind by some rude people. The ferry ride to and from the island, however, provided much-welcomed for naps.
What we had for dinner on the first day was unmemorable. By that I mean I don’t remember what we had and I can’t seem to find any photos of it.
One down. Sixteen to go. Don’t worry, I promise Day 2 is more exciting.
C.